RARA-AVIS: Jean-Patrick Manchette

From: William Denton ( buff@pobox.com)
Date: 08 Jul 2004


I just finished Jean-Patrick Manchette's LA POSITION DU TIREUR COUCHE
(1983), but in the English translation, THE PRONE GUNMAN (2002). Damn! That is fine, fine stuff. A number of folks have mentioned it on the list
(see especially the archives for August 2002 and August 2003) and I'm glad I finally paid attention and got one of the books. I'm going to get THREE TO KILL too.

Here's a quote from THE PRONE GUNMAN from the archives that shows something unusual in the style:

| Seated in the darkness of the 504, Martin Terrier listened attentively
| to this news. His haggard face at first registered great perplexity;
| then it registered worry, thoughtfulness, or whatever other movements of
| consciousness that might cause his face to look the way it did. Once the
| news was over, the man started the engine.

Notice "the man" instead of "he." It happens all through the book. In the original, is it "l'homme" and not "il"? I wish my French was good enough that I could read it that way. C'est un tres bon livre, et j'acheterai l'autre bientot.

Bill

-- 
William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.

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